


Lament of Regret

by PearLynn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang never showed up AU, Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, I'm adding AU to every tag AU, Katara joins him AU, Miscommunication, Murder, References to Depression, Smut, Zuko becomes an assassin AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 10:21:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15705282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearLynn/pseuds/PearLynn
Summary: The Avatar never returned, and the world has been thrown into chaos and destruction. Prince Zuko has taken it upon himself to take out the people responsible for tearing the world apart, with a little help from a waterbender with a vendetta.Zutara ninja assassin AU.





	Lament of Regret

**Author's Note:**

> behold! Another commissioned story! I took inspiration from the art from doodleladi called "Day 30 - Assassin" and the prompt "ninja assassin" from my commissioner! Hope you guys enjoy and consider commissioning your own story through me!

No one knew what happened to Crown Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. No one except Zuko himself, that is. Banished and disowned at the age of thriteen, he was cursed to scour the world in search of the missing Avatar. Only, the Avatar never showed his face, and one hundred years after the Fire Nation started the war, it was ended when Sozin's Comet streaked through the sky and the firebenders blessed with the extra power wiped out the last of the resistance of Fire Nation rule in the Earth Kingdom.

After all that time, Zuko had still been stuck at square one - empty-handed and unwelcome to the people he had tried to defend on the day of his fateful Agni Kai. But his allegiance, once die-hard and fool-hearty, faltered when he witnessed his own people burn in the fields that his father set aflame in his pursuit of world domination.

How could he defend the ideals of a nation that so easily discarded her people for the gain of power and traction in a useless war?

So he ran, tore off his armor and sheared his hair as he fled into the scorched ruins of the Earth Kingdom. The people still lived, if barely, and seemed wary of his appearance on the shores of their continent. He witnessed firsthand the aftermath of the demise of their earth, the very earth that had protected them from the same fate. He saw them rise from the ashes and start anew, revitalized with even more hatred for the Fire Nation.

A hatred he now shared.

After a year of wandering, of aiding people who had been wronged and learning to forget who he had been before, Zuko killed his first man.

An old commander, close to retirement, had ordered the deaths of an earthbending family because they had tilled the land and were growing ample amounts of food for their fellow villagers. Apparently, that wasn't allowed under the Phoenix King's regime and they had to be punished for their crimes.

As the commander raised his fist to set them on fire, Zuko sliced it off with his dao sword. The man's eyes widened in recognition before Zuko lopped off his head. The stare was still there as his head rolled against the blackened soil.

The same recognition dawned on the villagers's faces as they looked at him, as well. So Zuko fled again. The family had been saved, but his identity had been revealed. After all, not many golden-eyed men with a scar over their left eye traveled in the Earth Kingdom these days.

When he reached the next town, apparently so did word of his deeds. He slipped into a hotel room, and waiting for him was a written request to repeat his past action. A captain this time, but still as willing to execute those who dared to step out of line. He had already killed a man because he had prevented a Fire Nation soldier from stealing from his own home.

The man's daughter was to be executed next to set an example.

With a resigned sigh, Zuko grabbed his swords and went to the man's home in the middle of the night. His still-bleeding heart was clenched in his cold hand when he was discovered by his lover the next morning.

Though people didn't speak his name nor the direction he would head, they knew what he did and what was left in his wake. Officers and implanted politicians, killed by the request of the people they oppressed, by the hand of the Prince they once served.

On the eve of his twentieth birthday, Zuko arrived in Ba Sing Se, where the wall was breached and the Fire Nation had invaded all those years ago. And waiting for him on the rubble was his Uncle Iroh, who he hadn't seen since before he defected completely.

"I see you are well, Prince Zuko."

Zuko adjusted the strap of his bag and murmured, "It's Lee now."

"I see. I've been wondering where you've wandered to."

Zuko looked away and shrugged. "I had a lot to see."

Iroh hummed with understanding and climbed down from his perch on the wall. After he was in front of Zuko, Iroh smiled and handed Zuko a small package. "Happy birthday, my nephew. News travels quickly of your deeds. I believed you could use some help."

As Iroh grabbed his own bag and gave Zuko a small pat on his shoulder, he turned and made his way to the city. Once Iroh disappeared into the crowd of people entering and leaving the gates, Zuko opened the package and saw a small jar of tea leaves and a small crown with twin flames with a note rolled where the pin was supposed to lay. Written there was an address and a short message:

_"Meet her here on the night of the autumn equinox."_

One month later, Zuko was perched on the top of the building, cloth covering the lower half of his face and his eyes watching for any movement. The moon reached its apex in the sky, and Zuko silently slipped into the building through the top floor window. He saw her as soon as he landed in a crouch, spotting her shadowed form sitting in the center of the room at a low table with her legs crossed.

She was staring at him, blue eyes distinguishable even in the darkness of the night. Her fingers drummed an absent rhythm on the table top. "So you're  _him_."

Her voice was deeper than he would expect for a woman of her size, but smooth and clear that had a quality that instantly made him relax.

He straightened up and replied, "And yet I know nothing about  _you._ "

She stood and stepped into the moonlight that shone through the window behind him. The impossibly blue eyes were set into a tanned face with full lips and high cheekbones. Her body was slim and fit, but curved in the way of a mature woman. She was a warrior, just like him. He was keenly aware of that fact now as her eyes dragged over his body and a smirk pulled up at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm Katara."

After that, a partnership was formed. Within the first few minutes of knowing her, Zuko learned that Katara was the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. Since the Earth Kingdom had been razed to the ground, the Fire Nation had set its sights on the Water Tribes. Her home was completely destroyed in raids and her people scattered. She and her older brother traveled north with their grandmother - their father, the Chieftain, was stuck in the Earth Kingdom in an undisclosed location for an indefinite amount of time - and made their way to their sister tribe in the north. After much coercion and fighting with the patriarchal leadership, she learned how to bend there before the Fire Nation could attack, and she then made her way back to the Earth Kingdom with her brother. While she learned, he had made connections with many rebel factions throughout the Earth Kingdom, as well as the Order of the White Lotus, which was how they met Iroh.

At first, the siblings had been wary of the former Fire Nation royal, but he told them of the story of how he was forced to serve under an admiral that took away his nephew's crew after a particularly bad disagreement between the two, which in turn made them start to trust him. Iroh planned on staying with his nephew, but the banished Prince was adamant that he was left alone on his ship that was docked in an empty harbor. Months later, as Sozin's Comet raged in the sky and the Fire Nation dealt the final blow in the war, Iroh learned that Zuko had abandoned his vessel just as he had abandoned his country. Tracking him down was hard, but in the process Iroh learned that Zuko had taken to assassinating some of the very people he would have ruled one day.

For some strange reason, it gave Iroh hope that there would be an end to the tyranny that his brother continued.

As Iroh recounted these things, Katara became keen to meet the disgraced Prince, deciding that his mission intrigued her. When she told Iroh of this, he suggested she meet Zuko in Ba Sing Se and ask to join him. Iroh would take care of luring his nephew in and getting him to stay there.

Though Zuko was initially reluctant - after all, he never  _planned_ on becoming some sort of vigilante ninja assassin-type person (her words, not his) - but Katara proved to be a valuable ally very quickly. Katara was a strong bender, a prodigy in her own right, and a skilled assassin once she learned how to use his methods. Ba Sing Se was filled to the brim with Fire Nation bastards that were ripe and ready to be killed, and taking out a good portion of them would prove to be useful in his vendetta against his father's regime. Katara would find their targets and he would lead the kills. There were few times she would go alone, mostly to glean information on nobles in the area or locations of money stashes and slave trains, whereas Zuko always ventured out by himself to kill their targets. They would always go together if it was her turn to kill the target.

They didn't speak to each other much, or at least Zuko didn't. After their first meeting, Katara moved into his modest apartment with him and filled the once-constant silence with her presence. Sometimes she would hum as she cooked up their dinner and Zuko sharpened their blades, or she would fill the silence with a story about her brother, Sokka, or the Kyoshi Warriors, who had taken in most of the people of her tribe as refugees. She even regaled the time she convinced her bending master to teach her, and of the time they almost got caught by a Fire Navy ship when she was fourteen and had drifted too far from home while fishing.

Zuko would listen, but he didn't offer his own stories in return. He didn't have much to say, anyway. He was too focused on the people he had to kill, and the ever-growing weight of guilt and grief in his chest when another familiar name with a list of crimes was whispered their way.

They never accepted money for their actions. Katara didn't realize that most of their rewards were taken from their targets or safe houses they raided. Food was accepted, and sometimes new clothes or weapons if they were needed, but never money. Zuko didn't feel right taking it from the people his family willingly oppressed.

She seemed okay with it, though, so Zuko was fine. She was always content with letting him take the lead, with finding their next targets, marking them out in a little ledger book he kept with him, or figuring out their next move. So when he said that it was time to finally leave Ba Sing Se and head to the colonies out west, she was quick to accept it.

That night as they packed up their meager belongings, a messenger hawk arrived on their windowsill. Zuko immediately knew what that meant: a high-profile target. He went and fetched the message, then beckoned Katara to sit with him in the bay window that overlooked the city.

Zuko swept his hair into a phoenix tail as Katara spread some water over her fingertips, sharpening them into icy claws as she murmured, "So who's next?"

A smirk spread across Zuko's face as he opened the message and spoke for the first time in days, "Oh, you're going to love this one."

"Who is it?"

"General Zhao."

They both were well-acquainted with Zhao: Zuko through his life in the military and Katara through a raid on her tribe. Zhao had killed three elders that day, and she vowed to slay him herself if it was the last thing she ever did. Zuko had fought Zhao in an Agni Kai back when he was still loyal to his nation. A spat over honor and arrogance that quickly led to a physical brawl. Zuko won fair and square, but Zhao was quick to retaliate. Not a month after their fight, Zuko's privileges within the military were drastically reduced, his income diminished, and his crew taken from his care.

He had then learned the power of mutual dislike for the Fire Nation's dishonored son.

Once they finished packing up their meager belongings, they were off. Zhao was currently stationed at the Pohuai Stronghold, where he apparently was planning his assault on the Northern Water Tribe. Travel by foot would take them a week and a half, but luckily Zuko knew a man south of the Serpent's Pass who would sell them ostrich horses that would get them there in half the time. When their coins were exchanged, the man's wife slipped Zuko an extra loaf of bread and a pat on his good cheek before they were sent off.

When Katara asked, Zuko felt his face warm and said their daughter had been smitten with him because he stopped a thief from stealing their livestock and raping her a few years beforehand while he was passing through. The whole family was eternally grateful for his intervention, which resulted in extra food if he was passing through or a place to sleep. And that usually coincided with sly looks from the mother and embarrassed looks from the daughter, to which Zuko always declined the extra bed and made camp far, far away. The look in Katara's eyes at the comment was unreadable, which was frightening considering how open they typically had been for him in the four months they spent together in Ba Sing Se.

Winter was at its height when they trudged through the wastelands of the Earth Kingdom. With no tall vegetation, they could see for miles upon miles around them. Even at a distance, Zuko could see the sprawling mountains that surrounded the Great Divide, and the ravines that once lead to the Gaipan Forest. If they had traveled just a few more miles south, they would have been able to see the beginnings of the Si Wong Desert, and that thought alone made Zuko's stomach coil with disgust.

All this destruction and nothing to gain from it.

"Zuko, can we stop for the night?"

He looked to her, huddled under her heavy cloak but not looking as if she was cold, and he nodded. The ostrich horses were led to a series of caves off the side of the trail. He knew there had been a decent-sized lake here before the comet came, but now it was dried up and the skeletons of fish and small animals lined what had been the shoreline.

More deaths from the hands of his father.

He tried to suppress the raging and frustrated ache that settled deep in his stomach.

Katara found an outcropping of rocks near a shallow cave and settled her ostrich horse down. He was tied up to a dead tree and Zuko followed her lead with his stallion. They were fed their oats by Katara while Zuko started a fire from the dried branches and surrounding dead trees. Luckily, they weren't completely useless and he could get a good fire going to heat up their dinners.

As he stroked the fire and started warming up their soup in a pot, Katara stood at the opening of the cave and stared out towards the endless night sky. After a while, he heard her shift and he knew she was watching him from across the fire, eyes glowing in the flickering light. Snow was starting to fall, only light flurrying so far, and it was gathering in her nest of thick, pelt-like hair. Zuko tried not to notice that it made her look divine, especially with the light of the fire dancing across her beautiful face.

This whole time spent with her has been a fight against his body's reaction to hers.

"Zuko?"

His lone eyebrow arched as his answer.

Katara fiddled with the hem of her tunic and her lower lip slipped between her teeth as she sat down across from him. "Can... can you tell me why you don't speak often?"

Zuko's eyes flickered to the fire and he sighed, "There's not much to say."

"Yeah, that's the thing though," she huffed. Her arms folded themselves against her stomach and she leaned closer to him and the fire. "We've known each other for months now and I barely actually know anything about you. Except that you're the former Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and you were banished almost ten years ago."

He heaved a deep breath and pulled his hair out of its bindings. He ran his hands through the strands, wincing every time he snagged on a knot before he quickly swept it into a low phoenix tail. It reached his chest now and probably was as long as his father's; another fact he tried to suppress to the recesses of his mind.

"It's better that way," he finally said after a few moments of stilted silence.

Katara frowned at him, her brows pulling down in disappointment and frustration. "Here I thought differently."

He met her gaze and scowled. "Why?"

Her face softened in time with her voice. "Even though we were born to be enemies, you've proven that isn't the case. You've been killing the people who would wish me dead because of the element I wield. The same people who wish  _you_  dead because your  _father_ orders them to. We aren't on opposite sides, despite what we've been raised to think. If  _you_  truly believed that, you would have never agreed to let me join you. At this point in time, considering our circumstances, I thought you would have at least let me get to know you. Since you've been keeping me out, I'm starting to think you may still see me as an enemy of some sort."

Zuko cast away his stare towards the barren wastelands surrounding them. He knew she was right in a way, he just hated having to come to grips with the fact that he had been deliberately pushing everyone away since he abandoned his nation. After all, he hadn't even seen Iroh until four years after his defection and he had secretly considered that man more of a father to him than Ozai ever had been. He was angry, so,  _so_  angry at the whole world for what it did to him, what it did to his nation, what it did to itself. He felt it was better to be alone than to ask for help, because any time he ever did it came back and bit him in the ass.

But Katara was different, he knew that from the moment he first laid eyes on her. It wasn't his hormones that begged him to keep her around, that he knew. It was something deeper,  _stronger_ , that told him that she would be important, that she would be the key to helping him end this sick cycle that he got himself caught in. Life had been so... bleak until she stepped into the moonlight and gave him a splash of color.

"I'm sorry."

Her smile was warm and gentle - they always were - and she stood before walking to his side of the fire. She wrapped them both in her blanket and snuggled up against his shoulder, smiling all the while, and she murmured, "Just take your time. I'll always be here."

It thrilled and frightened him that he hoped that would remain true.

* * *

Pohuai was dreary and nauseating. Before, it had been a magnificent stronghold that housed some of the finest soldiers that the Fire Nation churned out. But after Sozin's Comet, it had been caught in the wildfires that spread after Ozai's initial attack and it burned to the ground. Since then, earthbending slaves were used to erect a new stronghold, but it was never the same. The walls were just as tall, but their hasty construction showed in the cracked foundations and uneven walkways. The towers had poor visibility due to their lack of openings for scouting and the central hold was easily penetrable - which was Zuko's favorite part.

He and Katara slunk through the sewers, disguised by the rushing water. Zuko took the lead, remembering the general layout from a map he swiped from a snoozing guard in the lighthouse at the north side of the compound. They turned the corners under the grates that no one bothered to look at, getting deeper and deeper into the stronghold. After all, the Fire Nation has been victorious in their conquest of the Earth Kingdom. No one would dare break into their military installations and try to assassinate their General.

How foolish they were.

When Zuko put his finger over his covered mouth - his signal for her to stay silent - Katara nodded. Zuko pulled himself out of the sewers, eyes darting around to find his mark, and he sped towards the hallway where Zhao's quarters waited for him. He tapped the floor with the toe of his boot, something indistinguishable except to those who were listening for it, and soon Katara was following his lead and climbing out of the grate to get to his spot.

Zuko intended on going in and taking out Zhao alone, but Katara was adamant that she deal the final blow. Zhao may have hurt Zuko's pride, but he killed her people. She had more of a reason to want to end his life, and begrudgingly Zuko agreed. His sole purpose tonight was to lead her to where she needed to go and distract Zhao long enough so she could get into position.

Also to protect her in case something happened.

Not that he'd tell her that.

Ahead, down a narrow hallway that Zuko was sure had been a prison hold before the stronghold was rebuilt, a door waited for them. No guards, but a light under the door told them that someone was inside. And by their intel it was Zhao. So Katara followed him, close enough that he could  _feel_  her body near his, until he reached the door and pressed his ear against it.

_"... do you mean he was spotted?! He's supposed to be dead!"_

_"I apologize, sir, but there was a report of him being sighted in Ba Sing Se about a month ago -"_

An angry shout followed by a brightening of the light under the door caused Zuko to look over his shoulder to Katara, confusion clear in both of their eyes.

_"Sir, he was not in the boat when it exploded. There have been reports of him being sighted all over the Earth Kingdom since the comet passed."_

_"I don't care. He needs to be taken care of. Phoenix King Ozai demands that his head be brought back to him at_ once _. I want your best men on the lookout for him. There's not much left of this pathetic country. Finding a scarred man won't be too hard."_

Had Katara lacked composure in stressful situations, Zuko was certain she would have gasped. Instead, her soft intake of air was the only indication that she had heard and comprehended what the voices on the other side were talking about: him. Zuko figured Zhao had wanted him dead, it was apparent when he heard of his ship being destroyed not two days after he abandoned it. But to have Ozai himself want Zuko's death unnerved him, only because the immature, idealistic part of his heart had hoped that his father still held a sliver of love for him.

This was just further reasoning for Zuko to stop letting his expectations drive him. Not that they did as of late.

_"Of course, sir."_

Footsteps started growing louder towards the door, and Zuko quickly grabbed Katara and pulled her into the room to their right. The door was only barely closed before the door to Zhao's quarters opened, revealing who Zuko knew was Brigadier General Shinu, a good man that Zuko hoped would never get on his hit list. One of the few men he hoped would support him back when he still wanted to be Fire Lord.

As Shinu's steps faded down the hall, Zuko met Katara's eyes in the darkness and nodded. This was her moment. The moon and her water pouches were full, and she was thirsty for her first high-ranking kill.

Together, they snuck out of the room and into Zhao's suite. The antechamber was empty and the remnants of the logs in the fireplace long burnt out - a testament of Zhao's rage just moments earlier. There were two doors; one leading to his bedroom and the other likely leading to his office. If Zuko remembered correctly, the office would be on the left. So he directed her over there. Not one to miss out on a good time, he simply followed instead of going to the other room to check it. As much as he wanted to kill Zhao himself, Katara had more of a claim and he would not take this chance from her.

The door was easily opened and over Katara's head Zuko spotted Zhao looking out his window towards the courtyard below, shoulders stiff and a glass of firewhiskey in his hands. This was almost too easy.

"I knew you'd come for me one day, Prince Zuko."

Zuko flinched at the use of his title. No one ever called him Prince anymore, and he preferred it that way. The way Zhao said it was full of disdain and mockery, proof of his dislike for the former heir apparent.

Katara slipped into the room, still attempting to remain unseen, and Zuko used Zhao's recognition as his distraction. He stood up straight and removed the cloth from his face. "It's been a while, Zhao. Tell me, how did you manage a promotion to  _General_?"

Zhao lifted his glass to his face, head tipping down to pause and look at it, and he took another sip before replying, "Many things are possible when you are on your ruler's good side. Phoenix King Ozai has always believed I had potential. Even before I gained the ranks necessary to warrant his attention."

Zuko's eyes darted to Katara, who was still lingering in the shadows, poised to strike, then he returned his attention to Zhao's back. "My father is many things, but loyal is not one of them. Are you sure you're not just his puppet?"

"Aren't we all, dear Prince?" Zhao snorted as he turned and finally faced him. The years had caught up to him, streaking his hair grey and lining his face with more wrinkles than Iroh had. His mocking smirk was ever-present, and his glass was empty. "Are you here to kill me?"

Zuko nodded but did not move to strike. His job was distraction, to glean information like Katara would before he went in for the kill. The reversal of roles made his palm itch with discomfort. "Aren't you trying to do the same to me?"

Zhao moved to pour more whiskey into his glass, his amber eyes never leaving Zuko's, and he replied, "I've always wanted to kill you, Zuko. Even before your father gave me permission. You've been an ever-present pest, always in my way and undermining my authority. I can only imagine how much more difficult you would have made my job if your little Avatar was put into play."

A jolt hit him in his chest and Zuko tried not to react.

"But alas, he's still missing and this world belongs to the Fire Nation. You should just give up your little quest, Prince Zuko. Your father wants you dead, and Fire Lord Azula is ready to head out herself to ensure it."

"What's the plan then, Zhao?" Zuko muttered, eyes catching Katara's movement as she closed in on their target. The old general had been drinking enough where his once-keen eyes wouldn't catch her movement until it was too late. "There's no point in having me killed. It's not like I could take on Ozai and Azula and come out on top to fix what they started."

"No," Zhao conceded with a sigh before downing his entire glass. "But people talk of your deeds, of who you've killed on their behalf. That hope that the earth people had is sprouting out again, and Ozai is ready to nip it in the bud before an uprising happens."

"It's already started," Zuko commented. Katara stilled and he noticed her glance at him as he continued, "The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong. They can endure anything as long as they have hope. The past four years have been proof of that fact. No matter what I do, they will resist."

Zhao chuckled and Zuko noticed little flames came out with each breath. "Idealist to a fault, young Prince."

"My years undoing the damage of the Fire Nation have taught me that."

When Zhao met Zuko's eyes, something there twinkled before he set down his glass and smirked. "The years have been good to you, Prince Zuko, despite the grief that I see in your eyes. It's unfortunate that things have to end this way."

Katara took that as her queue and quickly sent a flurry of icicles at Zhao's body. They pierced through his back and out his chest, clattering on his desk and melting into puddles of cold blood. Zhao's face was clear with shock as he turned and met the eyes of his murderer. Katara stood, straightening into the moonlight as Zhao fell to his knees, and Zuko's breath caught at the way her eyes caught the light and sparkled with life while Zhao's dimmed with death.

He would not get distracted. They weren't done yet.

An alarm started to ring, and Zuko cursed under his breath right as Zhao fell to the floor in a lifeless slump. He met Katara's eyes and they looked out the window to see rows of Yuyan archers readying themselves for their shots from the ramparts outside. Time stilled as their arrows were loosed: all aiming towards the open window where they were standing, Katara gasping in surprise, Zuko diving over the desk to tackle her out of the way, an arrow piercing him, their bodies crashing to the floor.

Pain erupted in his chest and Zuko wheezed in pain. His other senses were on high alert, helping him stand and pull Katara with him as they fled the office. The halls were echoing with the alarms and Zuko tugged Katara to the grate that led to the sewers as best as he could. Even with the adrenaline, he was starting to feel faint and his vision was starting to cloud. Katara's words were warbled in his ears, lost beneath the distant shouts and the bouncing bells from the alarm.

When they slipped into the sewer, Zuko stumbled and crashed to his knees. Katara had said his name, he was sure of it, and she tried to haul him to his feet, but there was a numbing sensation that was spreading through him with every beat of his heart. The rest of their escape was a blur, coming in spurts through his consciousness. He saw Katara bend the water in the sewers to move them quickly towards the exit, her bloodbending a whole platoon of archers to stop them from attacking, her grabbing him and jumping into the harbor before bending an entire orb of water around them and launching them far, far away from the stronghold.

When he woke up, she was pulling him onto the sand and panicking.

He coughed and rolled over, then immediately regretted it when the arrow was shifted and dug deeper into his skin. He shouted and collapsed back onto his back, then Katara was hissing something at him as she pulled him into the woods.

" _Idiot_! You didn't have to jump in front of that for me!"

Zuko's vision swam and he heard her mutter something about poison and blood, and he gathered that was the reason he was dizzy and was having trouble breathing.

"Zuko, I'm going to try to pull the arrowhead out. Open your mouth and bite down onto this leather strap so you don't bite off your tongue or break your teeth."

He did his best to glare at her as he attempted to open his mouth. When he struggled, Katara pried open his jaw and stuffed what he assumed was a belt between his teeth. Quickly, she summoned more water into her hand and quickly pushed it into his wound. The pain was sharp and overwhelming and immediately Zuko blacked out to the sounds of his muffled screams and the sight of Katara's crying face.

* * *

A soft humming filled his ears, a minor tune with haunting notes that reminded him of the cold winds that blew from the South Pole, ones that stung his cheeks and begged him to turn around in his fruitless search for the Avatar. He was brought back to sharp air filling his lungs and foggy breath, to the spiced tea his uncle tried to get him to drink as they navigated the ice flows in their small vessel.

It made him think of blue eyes filled with fear and of whispers of remorse.

A throb settled in his chest and Zuko tried to breathe against it, to push it away so he didn't have to deal with the pain it was giving him. There was another foreign heaviness, this one settling lower on his abdomen that made it hard for him to breathe deeply. However, when he shifted his breathing and tried to move, the weight left and the song stopped.

"Zuko?"

He forced his eyes open and was immediately met with Katara's gaze. She smiled and her hand went to his forehead.

"Glad to see you among the living."

When he tried to speak, it felt like sandpaper had lodged itself in his throat and he immediately coughed. Katara handed him his water pouch and he lifted his head to take a few slow sips. Once the irritation was slightly cleared, he asked hoarsely, "How long have I been out?"

Katara sat up and looked out towards the sea. "My best guess would be around five or six hours, but it's hard to tell since I don't know how long we were in Pohuai."

Zuko struggled to sit up, and as soon as he straightened up entirely Katara threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight. The last time Zuko was hugged, he was eleven years old and his mother was disappearing into the night. The sensation was different, but not unwelcome. The only problem was his breath was caught in his throat and an odd tightness spread through his chest as he did his best to reciprocate the hug.

Unfortunately all he could do was awkwardly pat her shoulder and try not to cringe at his lack of finesse.

"I was so worried," she murmured against his sternum. "The arrow hit you right in the center of your chest and the poison was in your heart before we even left Zhao's room. By the time I could help you, it was already effecting your nervous system and you weren't breathing right. Had I waited another minute, you would have died."

She pulled away and wiped away a tear that made its way out of her eye. "You reckless idiot."

"How was I supposed to know the arrow was poisoned?" he found himself asking, incredulous and a little embarrassed at how close her face was to his.

"You shouldn't have gotten hit in the first place!" she exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "Had you not tackled me, I would have been able to block the arrows with my water. But you got in the way trying to protect me!"

He scowled and leaned away from her. "I'll take that as a thank you, then."

Immediately, Katara folded her arms across her chest and spat, "No, take it as a lesson. I'm not completely helpless, like you think I am. I can take care of myself and our targets. You're not the only master bender here."

He tore his gaze from hers and huffed. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. Ever since she joined him, no matter how much she proved herself, he still felt like he had to protect her. It wasn't because he felt she was incompetent - she proved herself to be the complete opposite - or because he didn't feel she could handle the lifestyle he found himself deposited in. He couldn't really pinpoint when he decided it was his responsibility to keep her safe, but he knew that no matter what she said or did he would feel the compelling need to prevent her from getting hurt.

Zuko reasoned that she can more easily heal him than herself when push came to shove.

Katara must have sensed his unease because she was cupping his chin and forcing him to face her. There was a gentleness to her eyes that he hadn't seen since that night by the fire, and it made his stomach do something strange.

"Listen, it's not that I don't appreciate it. I do, but sometimes I think you need to remember that we're  _partners_ in this. I'm not tagging along as some sort of sidekick or kid you need to babysit. I'm here to help you, not hinder you."

Zuko felt some of the tension in his shoulders roll away and after a long moment of getting lost in the sincere look in her eyes, he sighed, "I know. And I'm sorry. I've been doing this alone for so long... It's hard to remember that I'm not all alone anymore."

Her smile was blinding and he had to remind himself to breathe. "No, you're not alone. And if I have my way, you won't ever be again."

He couldn't stop himself from giving her a smile in return, and he nudged her shoulder with his own. "Thank you, for healing me."

Katara nudged him back. "It was my pleasure."

Zuko was content with letting her have the last word, so he merely hummed and leaned against her as they sat in peaceful silence and watched as the sun rose over the ocean horizon.

* * *

Zuko first realized he wanted to sleep with Katara when he accidentally stumbled upon her changing clothes. He came back to their hotel room one night before they were set to take down their target, completely in his own head, and didn't realize that she had just gotten out of the bath. The second he looked up and saw the smooth expanse of the tanned skin of her back and stomach, he was a goner. Apologies were mumbled and the topic was avoided for the rest of their stay in that particular room, but the image of Katara's near-naked body was forever seared into his mind.

Afterward they finished the job and they got a decent distance away, she asked him to help her bandage up a cut between her shoulder blades. She had been clipped by a guard while they were in the process of assassinating the governor of New Ozai, and even though Zuko gutted both targets with his dual daos, Katara had already been hit and was bleeding badly. She couldn't reach the spot with her bending, so she asked Zuko to clean and bandage it so she could at least prevent infection until she could find a deep tub or basin to soak herself in.

Up close, Zuko could see her skin was smooth and clear, save for an old scar here and there that added more character than anything. As sliver after sliver of skin was revealed when she removed her upper bindings, he had to force himself to remain professional and take care of her. The cut was exposed and he immediately went to action, grabbing a wet cloth and dabbing up the blood that stained her skin before putting a pad of gauze over the wound. Quick, methodical. All to keep his mind off of the fact that her skin was  _so smooth_ and smelled amazing even though they were both sweaty and dirty from the fight and retreat out of the city.

As he taped down the bandage, Katara looked over her shoulder to him and asked, "How does it look?"

Being as honest as he could be, Zuko replied, "Not too bad. It'll scar if you don't heal it soon, though. It went pretty deep, but it's not too long so I wouldn't be concerned about you bleeding through the bandage."

He immediately removed his hands from her when he was finished and Katara flashed him a grateful smile over her shoulder before she stood and shuffled towards her bag. Being in the wilderness, they didn't have the luxury of privacy. And since they were still so close to New Ozai, they would have to get on the move as soon as she was dressed.

Katara shrugged on a new shirt and grabbed the ledger book out of her bag. She marked off their target's name with a flourish of her wrist and put it back before she took her hair out of its ties. As she finger-combed it and glanced at him, noticing he still hadn't moved from his spot, a grin spread across her lips and something unreadable flitted across her eyes again. Zuko was afraid that if he moved in that moment, with her staring at him and the fresh memory of her skin still tingling the palms of his hands, his composure would break and he wouldn't be able to fight the urge to kiss her anymore.

With her impish grin and her hand propped on her hip, Katara cocked her eyebrow and asked, "Ready to go?"

Zuko swallowed and nodded, and as soon as their packs were on their backs they started heading south towards their next target.

Ever since their visit to Pohuai to assassinate Zhao, there had been some sort of electric tension between them. Her hands would linger on his when they were climbing over steep rocks or setting up their tents, and her eyes would hold their gaze on his for longer than Zuko deemed normal. To her satisfaction, Zuko was starting to open up more to her, not too much, though. He was still adverse to discuss the reasoning behind his scar and banishment, and of how he got into the killing business. For him, he felt that he couldn't quite disclose all of that information. Not when the memory of it all still made his chest ache with residual sorrow. And Katara seemed to be okay with it and was content with the progress they were making.

At least, not until it became apparent that she was getting frustrated with him for some reason.

They had just finished killing a lieutenant that was overseeing the transition of power in a town called Gaoling when she snapped. It started innocently enough, with him sitting down and turning his back to her as she changed - mostly to maintain her privacy, keep guard of their little camp, and to prevent himself from slipping further into the forsaken territory of lusting towards his partner. Katara huffed and walked around so she was in front of him, and Zuko had to force down the heat that spread to his face when she towered over him in just her upper bindings and a pair of undershorts.

"What is it with you?"

"What?"

She huffed again and crossed her arms. "This! You being all stoic and quiet. I thought we were bonding! But all you do is keep me at arm's distance or push me even farther away!"

He scowled and snapped, "Would you prefer I gawk at you as you change clothes?"

Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink at the comment. "N-no! I would just prefer that you actually speak to me instead of me always initiating it! We haven't had a real conversation in weeks! It's always where we're going next, who's the next target, whether or not I'm hungry. Zuko, please tell me I'm not being crazy by assuming that we're at least  _friends_."

The pitiful tone of her voice made him recoil with shame. "I... I just don't know how to do the friend thing. I've been by myself for years and I've only known you for half of one! It's going to take more than a few conversations in front of a fire to make me change how I've always been."

"Yeah, but I figured we would have progressed a little more than  _this!"_ she bemoaned with anger. "I seriously still know nothing about you-"

Zuko shot to his feet and glared down his nose at her. He'd finally had enough and the anger that had been simmering in his blood reached a boiling point. As evenly as he could, he responded in a low growl, "What is it that you want to know then, huh? That I was burned by my father before he cast me out of the country to look for the missing Avatar when I was thirteen? Or how when Sozin's Comet came and went I watched my own people burn alongside people they thought were their enemies?"

Katara's eyes widened and he leaned closer. "Or how about the first man I killed had actually been vocal against my banishment, because he believed the Fire Lord should have just killed me instead? Or how my Uncle Iroh looked at me for the first time in four years when I arrived in Ba Sing Se and I knew he saw the face of my father in front of him instead of the nephew he tried to steer away from a life of murder? You act as if my story is one you are owed, but I know when you learn the harsh realities of what you've gotten yourself into you'll realize your mistake and flee."

He turned on his heels and stomped towards the fire pit and blasted it with a bright burst of flames. The wood quickly caught fire and crackled under the strain of his outburst, and he glared at her over his shoulder. "I killed that man because he was about to kill an innocent family merely for trying to grow food. Every single person we take out has a similar mark on their record to get on ours. But what happens when they die? Someone else is sent to fill their place, and by then we are long gone. Off to kill the next person who we deem dishonorable. We are no better than them, and when you want to know something about me, that's all I can think of: that I am just deserving to be in our little book of kills because we have killed just as many people as them."

He sighed and dropped his head. "It's not like it makes that much of a difference. The Fire Nation won the war, and unless my father and sister both die there's no chance balance will be restored."

Without waiting for her response, Zuko strode out of the camp towards the river that was about a click hike south. The whole time steam hissed out of his nose and he smelled the distinct scent of burning leaves with every step he took. He glanced behind himself, relieved to see that the underbrush was still too damp and the leaves were only smoldering after his feet passed over them.

Still, that wasn't much better.

By the time he reached the water, his rage was still rolling off of him in rivets. He picked up a sizable rock and chucked it into the running water, shouting out his frustration as it smacked against the surface with a splash and sank down. He threw himself on the ground, back pressed against the shore, and he stared up towards the sky, where the moon was just starting to crest over the trees and mountains in the distance. Tonight, there were no clouds so he could see every single star. It reminded him again of when he was in the southern waters, staring up at the very same sky and cursing his fate. It wasn't any different now.

Well, now he was a homeless murderer.

"You're going to catch your death if you stay out here for much longer."

He glanced up and saw Katara standing over him, blanket pulled tight over her shoulders. When he brought his attention back to the sky, Katara sighed and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"You were right: I felt like I was owed your story because I told you almost everything about me," she stated softly. "After all this time spent together, I thought I could find out more about you and help you in more ways than just killing more corrupt people."

Zuko turned and looked up at her profile, brow furrowing. "Instead of pushing me, maybe you could have let me come to you on my own."

"I had no idea how long that would take," she murmured. Her eyes were still on the running river in front of them. "You've been so closed off, and at night I hear you mumbling in your sleep about so many things that you should be talking to someone about. You always look exhausted and at times I feel like you're so detached that you don't realize where we are or how much time has passed."

He shook his head. "I don't-"

"Zuko, you left the campsite two hours ago."

He blinked and tilted his head towards the moon, confirming her statement by its new position in the sky. It was full again, this being the first one of spring, and was now completely visible over the mountains in the distance and trees that surrounded the river. He was surprised that these trees even lived through the Fire Nation's attack, but he figured that it had been too far south for the Fire Nation to reach while the comet was still in the sky.

Zuko sat up, pressing his shoulders to hers, and he whispered, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say or how to act. Everything I was taught as a prince doesn't matter anymore and I keep fucking up. I'm no good at any of this."

Katara looked to him and her frown was slight, but apparent in the bright light of the full moon. "We don't have to do this anymore, if that's what's getting you all worked up. I'm sure there are plenty of rebel cells around the Earth Kingdom that would welcome us both-"

"That's not it, Katara." He paused and met her eyes, a little stunned to see that slight blush returning to her cheeks. It was then that he realized how close they were to each other. He took a deep breath and stated, "There's so much more I could have done, yet I've been doing this. With you. Tarnishing you with this endless mission of killing people on the request of others. It's unfulfilling and dangerous and this whole time all I want to do is stop, but... I can't. If I didn't kill those people, they would have gone to oppress and kill more. Zhao was going to lead an invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. If he had gone through with it, your people would be wiped out. I hate doing it but I feel like if I don't then the world is going to end in fire."

He sighed and dropped his chin a little as he built up the courage to add, "I don't want you to get hurt by doing all of this. I... care about you, and I feel like I have to protect you from all of this stuff. Physical and not. It's not easy for me to acknowledge that fact."

Her eyes were bright when she smiled and took his hand with hers. "I will stay by your side until balance has returned. Until then, we can find out a new path. If you want to go to the Fire Nation, we'll go to the Fire Nation. If you want to stay here and keep doing what we're doing, we can do that, too. If you want to go find the Avatar, well I guess we can do that if it'll make you feel better. Regardless, I'll be by your side."

At her earnest statement, something akin to love swelled in his chest and it made his throat tighten. Zuko didn't know what overcame him, but one minute he was stroking the skin on the back of her hand with his thumb and the next he was kissing her fiercely. She didn't seem surprised, mostly just caught off-guard, but she was quick to reciprocate his affections by twining his long hair between her fingers and moaning into his mouth when he rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her akimboed legs.

He had never succumbed to the desires of flesh, not even when tempted during his years of exile and more recently while in her company, but the moment that Katara's skin touched his Zuko knew that he was a goner. Her arms wrapped around him and she continued to make little noises as he poured himself into their kiss. His body was starting to react to her and he was quick to lose his sense of control when her fingers slipped under the hem of his shirt and started to ghost over the skin of his abdomen while she pushed his shirt up.

His clothes were shed at lightning speed, tossed carelessly to the side as he made to divest her of her clothes. He realized now that she was only in a loose shirt and the undershorts she had been wearing before, which made his blood rush south and a growl to tear through his throat. Katara stared up at him with wide and darkened eyes, waiting for him to continue, and he smirked as his hands skimmed the sides of her legs and hooked into the waistband of her shorts.

Katara's eyes flashed and he took that as his cue, so he pulled them off before helping her shrug out of her shirt. The moment her breasts were bared, Zuko swooped down and latched onto her nipple. She cried out as his tongue swiped against it and her hips shot towards his. The wetness of her warmth spread against his aching erection and he shuttered as his teeth bore down against her nub. This started an erotic cycle: her grinding her hips against his erection because his mouth did something sinful to her breasts, while he was biting and sucking because she ground against him.

By the time they were both panting and on the verge of release, Zuko let go of her nipple and quickly captured her lips in a kiss. Katara took charge and wrapped her fingers around his cock and steered him to her opening. The moment their tongues touched again, he thrust into her. They both groaned at the sensation and Zuko shivered as her hands ghosted over his back to grip his shoulders. She kissed him lightly on his jaw, a sign for him to move, and he followed her silent instruction.

Under the moonlight, they moved like the tides. Zuko was slow and deep with his thrusts, pressing his entire self against her in a silent prayer. Her name was a litany on his lips, all in hushed whispers that flowed with the river behind them.

Zuko hoisted one of her legs over his shoulder and angled his hips so he could delve deeper into her. Katara shouted when he hit a new spot and Zuko couldn't stop the swell of pride that filled his chest when she moaned loudly and her grip tightened on his shoulders. She was panting now, gasping his name in time with his thrusts. Bathed in the moonlight, she looked like a goddess writhing beneath him. He was completely unworthy of her, but she was letting him take her in the wilderness like they were animals.

But if Zuko was being honest with himself, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Katara rose to meet his thrusts when she started crying him name louder. Her eyes were starting to roll back and he could feel her tighten around him in a constricting vice, making it more difficult to plow himself into her. Then, like a wave cascading against the shore, Katara came with a loud moan. Her walls fluttered around him, milking him for all he was worth, which caused him to come right behind her with a wordless shout.

They laid like that for what felt like ages, but for all Zuko knew it could have been just a minute or two. When his now-flaccid cock slid out of her, he winced and was brought back to the present. Katara was staring up at him with glazed and sated eyes, a flush to her cheeks and the tops of her breasts. He leaned down and kissed her again, then readjusted himself so he was delicately draped over her body.

Katara was kind enough to pull the edges of her blanket over his shoulders, to partially shield his bare backside from the cool air of the spring night. They settled into each others' warmth and immediately Zuko felt uncomfortable. That was a rushed decision, one that could change their dynamic for good.

"Katara..."

She nuzzled her face against his and sighed, "Don't say anything."

He leaned back and looked down at her with a perplexed stare. "Why?"

Katara opened her eyes and met his, gaze level and serene. "Because I know what you're going to say, and I know that it'll be wrong."

"What?"

"You'll say this was a mistake, that you shouldn't have taken advantage of me like that," she murmured as her eyes slid closed and she rubbed his back with her hands again. "You were not taking advantage of me in any way shape or form. Know that I've wanted to touch you like this since our bout with Zhao and every opportunity to do so has ended in failure. When you turned away from me earlier, it just made me snap because all of the hints and suggestions I've thrown your way have just gone over your head."

Zuko couldn't stop himself from chuckling bitterly and he dropped his head to her shoulder. "I'm an idiot."

"At least you admit it."

He snorted and rubbed his nose against the column of her throat. "So what now?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she sighed as she laid her head back. Zuko pressed his hips to hers again, giving her an exact idea of what he wanted next, but she swatted his back and started laughing, "Slow down, you heathen! I meant, where are we going next. We don't have any requests and the dry season is about to start, so I can assume that we are going to have a hard time finding food in the wilderness until the rainy season."

Zuko sat up, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked down to her, and he said, "What about the Fire Nation?"

Katara's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

He nodded and started playing with a strand of her hair. "There will always be people there that need help, so I'd be willing to risk immediate execution if it meant I got to disrupt my father's rule. We can raid supply trains, destroy factories, heal the sick and wounded-"

Katara silenced him with a hard kiss, her sigh of content warming him to his bones. She tightened her hold on him and deepened the kiss before breaking away and saying, "It sounds perfect to me."

After they made love in the moonlight again, Zuko and Katara walked hand in hand back to their campsite, where they made love one more time before the sun rose. Once they were sated - for now - they packed up their things and headed west, where the Fire Nation and their next targets awaited them across the expansive sea.

* * *

_fin._


End file.
